She is not bad

Chapter 17 : Drive-in

Cassandra needed a break. She needed a break with work and home. Jane was out this Saturday, so the woman decided to go to the coffee shop to drink a warm and tasty coffee and read a good book. For a moment, she just wanted to be a random woman in a coffee shop. She wasn't a cleaner lady or an aunt anymore. Sometimes she wished she had a man with her. Someone who could love her. But with Jane at home, it was complicated. She was sure the brunette wouldn't accept her aunt to love someone else than her. Cassandra knew it was too early. The woman got cut in her thoughts by someone standing next to her.

- "Oh, hey Joyce," Cassandra smiled.

- "Hey, I saw you from the outside. I thought I could come here to know how you were."

- "You did right! Come, take a seat."

Joyce warmly smiled to her and sat in front of her. She ordered a coffee too.

- "I didn't know you were spending some time in this coffee shop!" Joyce stated.

- "I'm not always free. But when I can, I come here. To relax."

- "How is it at home?"

Joyce didn't ask innocently this question. She was hearing what Will was saying about Jane. And her friend's face was saying it all too; the poor woman seemed close to crack.

- "I... (Cassandra stops talking and looks around before continuing in a low voice) I think Jane is dealing drugs," the black-haired woman confessed.

- "...I don't know if I'm surprised or not," Joyce frowned. "What made you think that?"

- "I found a small safe. I don't know what's inside, but there was a piece of paper on it with something like a list of prices. Maybe I'm wrong, but someone paid some of our bills, and I'm sure it's her...She had already done that when she...you know, robbed your store."

Joyce didn't know what to answer. She didn't really want to talk about this event again, but, for now, she was here for her friend, so it didn't matter.

- "Someone told her she was a bad person yesterday..." Cassandra added with a sad tone.

- "Well, we can't really blame this person. I mean, Jane is-"

- "I know how she is," she sharply cut. "I live with her; I've seen her growing up for five years now, and I can affirm that she is not a bad person. Jane has many defaults, I'm aware of that. She is angry, sad, violent, hurt, she drinks alcohol, she smokes too much and not just tobacco, she yells, she provokes, she makes bad decisions, but she is not a bad person. She is just lost, and I'm here to guide her home. She needs to heal. But now, everyone is telling her that she is a bad person or a goner, and she begins to believe them...She doesn't wanna talk to me...I'm sure I guessed some things, but I still don't know exactly what they did to them..."

- "I'm sorry..."

- "It's okay. Everybody thinks that, I'm just done to hear it. Nobody knows her as I do, and nobody wants to make the effort to. I can understand why, but...she is my Jane. If I don't protect her, who will? I fought too hard for her to let her down now that she needs someone."

Joyce felt guilty. She knew if her sons were like that and that someone would tell her that they were awful, she would probably destroy them on the spot for just having the thought of it. Cassandra was reacting like a mother, and it was normal. Joyce remembered when she did everything to have custody of the kids; it was hard. The woman fought with every kind of law and almost lost everything.

Meanwhile, in a park, Max was with Gary, waiting for all her friends to come. The couple was cuddling and kissing, enjoying this moment of intimacy. The redhead did everything to avoid Neil as much as possible, but yesterday he still managed to let a mark on her wrist and her neck. Luckily, she managed to hide them under her clothes. Their moment of intimacy was cut by the arriving of their friends. Lucas and Dustin were the first ones to arrive, creating a cold atmosphere between the four. Max was still mad at them for taking Jane's side. But they got quickly joined by Bev, Mike, and Will. The group of friends was about to go when Bev interrupted them: